Nearly Half of This Season’s NFL Games Will Be Streamable

Like most TV content these days, The NFL has plans to lean further into the world of streaming. According to MoffettNathanson Research, 49% of games this season (133 total) will be available to watch on streaming platforms, though most won’t be exclusive. Of the 7% of games (20 total) that will stream exclusively, most will be hosted on Amazon Prime Video — including one wildcard playoff game. But while streaming is becoming a bigger piece of the NFL pie, traditional TV still holds a significant portion of the action. This season 42% of games (114 total) will remain exclusive to linear TV networks. 

Last season we started to see some of the impacts of streaming’s growing role in NFL viewership. Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime saw a 22% increase in viewership, averaging 11.7 million (though it was down from the 15.1 million when the program aired on Fox). Also, Monday Night Football on ABC and ESPN saw a 45% jump, reaching 20.3 million viewers — in part due to additional airings on ABC during the entertainment industry strikes. As streaming continues to expand its presence in the world of sports, it’s clear that it’s become an essential way for fans to experience the NFL — whether in the upcoming season or beyond.

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